Senior Prosperity Officer at Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Main purpose of job:

To drive forward the High Commission’s work on prosperity, working closely with the Regional Director and with other teams in the Mission to deliver economic development, job creation, and greater trade and investment in Ghana. Engage with government, private sector and others in Ghana to build understanding and drive forward policy on the business environment, government policies and state-owned enterprises. Use this to analyse and interpret trade and investment trends and make recommendations for improving the business environment and reducing barriers to greater trade and investment. Work with colleagues on market access and trade policy issues, and support efforts to build a more coherent UK ‘offer’ to Ghana, including working with the private sector and engaging regularly with departments in London.

Roles and responsibilities:

A key role helping to deliver one of the UK’s highest priorities in Ghana, you would sit at the heart of a cross-government virtual team working on economic development, job creation, trade and investment. Prosperity Team leads the coordination of that group, bringing together the work of different government departments in a coherent and strategic way. This is an exciting, challenging and outward-facing job in a dynamic and fast-moving area, and will provide ample opportunity to engage at a senior level with government officials, private sector companies and experts.

• Provide analysis of trade and investment trends and use this to make recommendations for how the UK can reinforce its position as Ghana’s partner of choice for economic development. Lead on developing a narrative for what differentiates the UK from other partners, including understanding UK comparative advantage, Ghanaian priorities and the approach of other partners.
• Lead on identifying and analysing market access barriers and other constraints to trade and investment in Ghana, and explore with government officials, departments in London and the private sector ways to reduce or remove them. Lead a series of deep dives into specific areas of the business environment, such as state-owned enterprises, cross-border trade facilitation or customs, and work with government and others to tailor a package of UK support in that area, driving change that provides real impact.
• Proactively widen the High Commission’s network of contacts in government, the private sector and among international organisations, think tanks and other Embassies, to build knowledge and expertise, to maximise UK influence; and to project our key messages around support for Ghana’s economic development. Map out existing work on economic development by the UK and others, work with the government to understand their economic and industrial priorities, and help to ensure that this matches closely with what the UK can offer through development finance, technical assistance and private sector support.
• Deliver key elements of the UK-Ghana Business Council around economic development, trade and investment, a six-monthly high level forum co-chaired by Ghana’s Vice President and the UK’s Minister for Africa. Work closely with the Vice President’s Office and other key ministries on implementing agreed actions quickly and effectively.
• Input into regional work as part of the West Africa Regional Prosperity Network, including reporting on issues of joint interest and sharing knowledge and expertise.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience 

• Familiarity with economics and trade issues.
• Experience of working in either development, trade and investment or government.
• Proven ability to analyse complex situations and come up with solutions.
• Experience of working in an international environment.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience 

• Experience of the private sector and/or the development community